Lawyers held countrywide strike in support of democracy

ISLAMABAD – The legal fraternity of the country on Thursday observed complete strike, protests and sit-ins throughout Pakistan to express their solidarity with the democratic political system in the country.

The lawyers on the call of Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan (SCBAP) observed complete strike against the sit-ins in Islamabad saying the campaigns were putting the parliamentary democracy in Pakistan in peril.

Lawyers stayed away from court proceedings in Pakistan and remained absent during case hearings in the courts. The lawyers also protested in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Vehari, Quetta, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Peshawar and other cities of Pakistan and boycotted the court proceedings.

In Gilgit-Baltistan the lawyers boycotted the court proceedings to express their solidarity with the democratic institutions and affirmed their support for the supremacy of democracy. The PBC and SCBA also took exception to Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan's call for civil disobedience urging the PTI chief to recall it.

Presidents of bar associations across the country hold rallies and sit-ins in each District and Tehsil of the country against the protests by the PTI and the Pakistan Awami Tehrik. The lawyers said that Pakistan could not afford unconstitutional measures as they always opposed any unconstitutional step.

Moreover, the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) has summoned an all Pakistan lawyers' meeting today to decide on a strategic plan to resolve the political crisis which has come about as a result of protests by the PAT and the PTI in the federal capital.

Pakistan Bar Council and Supreme Court Bar Association on Wednesday's meeting had urged the political parties to make all endeavours to resolve the political crisis without compromising the constitutional and legal norms.